These days, the weather is as hot as an oven, unbearably stuffy without a breath of wind. Going out for a walk and coming back, clothes are soaked with sweat, and you're so thirsty your tongue hangs out.

What quenches thirst the fastest at a time like this? Some say ice-cold beer, some say fizzy cola, others say freshly squeezed juice. Finally, one friend smiled slightly and said, "None of those. Come with me."

The friend brought us to the tea room in his house. What he claimed was the most thirst-quenching was actually cup after cup of steaming hot kung fu tea. I found it strange; tea is brewed with boiling water. We're already unbearably hot, and yet we're drinking such hot tea? Wouldn't that add heat to heat? How could that quench thirst?

The friend laughed heartily: "First, you need to calm your mind." The friend boiled water, warmed the pot, cleaned the utensils, added tea leaves, rinsed the leaves, brewed the tea, and served the tea—his entire tea-making process was extremely skilled. After preparing the tea, he gestured towards the served cups, inviting us to drink: "Everyone, drink slowly, and you'll understand the secret."

The friend's tea room was decorated very elegantly and quietly. He even特意 lit a stick of eaglewood incense, immediately filling the room with its fragrance and the swirling steam from the tea. We drank tea while chatting happily about pleasant things, the room filled with hearty laughter. After a little while, we had already finished three rounds of tea. Drinking this steaming hot tea, everyone unknowingly broke out in a sweat. Strangely, after sweating, people felt incredibly comfortable, a sense of coolness permeating their whole bodies, and even their thirst was quenched.

We were all amazed. So, hot tea could quench thirst this effectively? The friend said: "This is called sweating and detoxifying. Have you heard the saying 'fight poison with poison'? We are 'fighting heat with heat'." Things in the world are inherently wonderful. The heat of the tea and the heat of the weather—the former churns and swirls, the latter is still and unmoving—actually share the same origin and nature, yet they counteract and complement each other. From a scientific perspective, drinking hot tea can make the body sweat and dissipate heat, thereby achieving cooling and thirst-quenching effects. Cold drinks are not the same; drinking too many can actually lead to retained cold and phlegm accumulation. My friend spoke knowledgeably, now science, now the Way of Tea, his talk filled with enthusiasm and interest.

We strongly agreed. Isn't this true for how we conduct ourselves and handle affairs as well? Sometimes, when facing difficulties, we always try every possible way to find a solution, hoping to 'drink cool tea'. We call it finding a different path, taking fewer detours, but in reality, it's often avoiding difficulties and shunning setbacks. Actually, the more we do this, the more easily we become confused by the surface appearance of things. If we face difficulties directly, rise to the challenge, embody a bit of that 'drinking hot tea' spirit, find motivation within the difficulties, and learn from the setbacks, we can instead find the direction forward and quickly move towards success.

We raised our teacups. Such a small cup of hot tea contained such rich philosophy—truly wonderful!